Negotiators, police were plotting every move

Tense times for police officers during Monday's standoff were heightened by what they

didn't know as the 13-hour wait played out.

While an armed Jimmy Johnson held Saroj Patel hostage inside her Fast Point Food Store on South Church Street, he smoked crack and drank beer.

Across the street, Spartanburg Public Safety Officer and SWAT team member Brian Stokes was in position to fire at any sign that Patel's life was in danger.

After 11 hours, Stokes, who had remained in his sniper stance throughout the day, made the only shot he had been afforded.

In less than a second, he successfully ended the ordeal, sending Patel to freedom and Johnson to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

Public Safety Director Tony Fisher said Tuesday that Stokes took an incredible risk. "I have the greatest amount of admiration for him. He did a good job," Fisher said.

Stokes is on leave for three days while his actions are reviewed.

Family members said he spent time with his parents on Tuesday.

His 28-year-old niece Crystal Tuell paid tribute to his heroism by writing a poem.

One verse reads, "When you're down and feeling wrong, keep in mind your heart is strong. You made a choice that shook your nerve, but with your skill you protect and serve."

Assessing the scene

Fisher said conversations with Johnson by negotiators, coupled with his nervous and jittery appearance during the traffic stop that precipitated his flight into the store about 7:50 a.m., painted a clear picture.

He had been released from prison in April after serving 14 years of a life sentence, and he soon showed officers how cornered he felt in the store, which did not have a back exit.

"He said, 'Don't doubt that I will kill a police officer, but I don't want to kill any with children. Make all the police officers with children get away.' We felt he was conscious and alert by this statement that said he had some sense of parenting," Fisher said.

While two police officers, Lt. Steve Lamb and Sgt. Chris Taylor, stayed on the telephone with Johnson for eight hours, SWAT team members remained on alert.

Lamb said he and Taylor were in their own world inside the mobile command post as they worked to maintain telephone contact with Johnson. A camera was set up so they could see the front door of the store.

"We wanted to keep him calm. His family members helped us by talking to him, plus one of his friends," Lamb said.

FBI negotiator Paul Jacobs worked with Lamb and Taylor. "He brought in a hard-line telephone late in the day. He was another team member. We have eight hours of audiotape. We were emotionally drained. It was something else for us to come out of there. To see all the people. We were not even aware they were around," Lamb said, describing the number of law enforcement officers on the scene and spectators gathered on the street.

Johnson had told his mother recently that he would not go back to prison, Fisher said.

Officers had a sense of what they faced when Johnson refused to remain in his car during the traffic stop, Fisher said.

Officer George Andrew Clark said Johnson was constantly fidgeting, moving his hands and looking around. "He kept the balls of his feet on the floorboard and raised his heels, causing his legs to bounce," Clark said.

Johnson exited the vehicle, and Clark said he told him to get back in, but he refused. When Clark told Johnson to put his hands on the car so he could pat him down, Johnson ran.

Officers called to assist in the traffic stop said they saw that Johnson had a gun. He ran into the store where a customer was coming out, leaving only Patel, who owns the store.

"We know he had a gun and crack in his possession. The officers were going to find it, and he knew that would violate the terms of his release from prison," Fisher said.

Setting the stage

After Johnson fired 10 shots, authorities increased their efforts to bring the standoff to a close.

Led by Lt. Art Littlejohn and assisted by the SWAT team from the Spartanburg County Detention Center, the tactical team's job is to display an appearance of being in control.

"Everybody had concern for the safety of the hostage. That was our goal. The city police achieved this. They had a plan, and it worked. With the temperatures so hot, we helped rotate because they could not have lasted through the whole ordeal," Freeman said.

Johnson's record

Johnson was sentenced to life in prison in 1990 for kidnapping a man who went to the U.S. Post Office on South Church Street at 8:45 p.m. on Sept. 3, 1989, to buy stamps.

Johnson also was convicted of robbing the man at gunpoint. He received a concurrent 25-year prison term.

Before going to prison, Johnson pleaded no contest to three counts of armed robbery in Cherokee County, and received 25-year sentences on each count that also ran concurrently, court records show.

His criminal background dates back to 1983, and includes assault, shoplifting, robbery, and possession of drugs and a gun.

He remained in Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, where two police officers are guarding him around the clock, said Spartanburg police Capt. Randy Hardy.

Warrants have been issued accusing Johnson of assault with intent to kill and kidnapping after Monday's standoff, authorities said.